Posts Tagged ‘Zipcar’

“Alternative” may have connotations of “underground” or “independent,” but the Office of Sustainability hopes alternative transportation brings to mind a sense of open sharing and community at Wake Forest University. With options including the car sharing program Zipcar and the campus carpool network Zimride, Wake Forest faculty, staff, and students have access to transportation without bringing a car to campus.

WFU now offers four Zipcars on campus, including an additional car by the new residence halls on the North side of campus. To access the vehicles, and the international Zipcar network, anyone with a wfu.edu email address can join for a reduced first-year fee of $25 with the promo code B2S2013. New members also receive $45 of free driving credit to try out the program in the first month. Depending on the vehicle, rates start at $7.50/hr or $69/day and include gas and insurance. Unlike traditional rentals, Zipcar for Universities only requires drivers to be 18 or older and have a valid driver’s license (international drivers are welcome). In addition to personal accounts, faculty and staff can create departmental Zipcar accounts and reserve Zipcars for WFU-related travel.

Members can reserve Zipcars for an hour or a whole weekend, depending upon need. The free iOS Zipcar app makes on-the-fly reservations even easier. As Zipcar likes to emphasize, it’s like owning a car without the hassle.

For anyone with a vehicle on campus who is looking to share a ride, Zimride is available to facilitate carpooling. With a wfu.edu email address or a Facebook login, prospective carpool partners can register trips through the secure network. The free iOS Zimride app also puts the power to post or request a ride in the hands of the user. A Zimride member can offer a ride for free or ask passengers to help cover the costs of the trip. Either way, extra cars are off the road during rush hour, busy weekends, and holiday travel times. For a daily commute, a shared ride to a meeting, or a trip out of town, Zimride helps make the match.

By Hannah Slodounik, Program Coordinator for the Office of Sustainability

Zimride is a ride-sharing program that has harnessed the networking capacities of social media infrastructure to facilitate carpooling. While ride-sharing is a familiar concept, the Zimride program is quite different than the more classic variety of ride-sharing programs that inevitably involves a bulletin board and spidery strings of yarn.

Zimride began to reinvigorate ideas about ride-sharing in 2007 when they first launched the program at Cornell University and University of California Santa Barbara, the alma maters of the two co-founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer (not the source of the Zim in Zimride). The two figured that a ride-sharing network specific to a single college campus could ensure that users were heading to the same places and would relieve the anxiety of traveling with complete strangers. The program proved a huge success in Ithaca and Santa Barbara and has since spread to 125 college campuses and 350,000 users. It is now the largest ride-sharing community in the country, helping to fill the 70-80% of seats on American highways that typically go empty.

In August, Wake Forest became one of the 125 campuses to adopt Zimride. Andrew Smith of the Office of International Affairs is among many to have joined the network here. Upon creating a Zimride profile, Andrew connected with Kyle Denlinger, a fellow staff member living three houses down from his own. Now the pair carpools several times a week, taking turns behind the wheel. Andrew also added that through Zimride he had the unexpected benefit of finding a cat sitter.

Zimride not only facilitates commutes but also long-distance trips. If you’re heading home this fall or for Thanksgiving break check Zimride before you depart. The only account required is a Wake Forest email and if you have a Facebook account, you can find users within that network as well. Finding a travel companion, saving money on gas and reducing your carbon footprint has never been so easy.

Your favorite alternative transportation options just got better. Read on for updates on the university shuttle lines and Zipcar.

Ride the Wake

Did you know that you can track the location of the Downtown, Grey, Black and Gold line shuttles in real time? The Department of Computer Science developed real-time viewing for the shuttles’ positions using GPS technology. Track the location of your ride and stay warm and productive in your office or apartment until your shuttle approaches your stop. Check it out at http://shuttle.cs.wfu.edu/ from your computer or download the free Ride the Wake app for your iPhone or iPad.

Also new to the Ride the Wake lines, a weekend shuttle loop was added to the university’s alternative transportation options. University community members can now travel to Hanes Mall and the River Birch Lodge shopping center on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Shuttles depart from the Benson Center and run on a continuous loop.

Zipcar – Wheels when you want them!

Based on continuously climbing demand, Zipcar has added a third car to the WFU campus fleet. The new silver Mazda lives in Lot N – between Kitchin and Poteat. We hope that this will be convenient for faculty and staff working on the north side of campus as well as for students living on the Quad and north campus residence halls.

Remember, you can have an account with Zipcar for your personal use and you can join a departmental account for all WFU-related travel. With a departmental account, travel is charged directly to your department – no need for travel reimbursements.

Additionally, thanks to a partnership with Ford Motor Company, the Ford Focus that is located in front of Johnson Residence Hall comes with a discount. As part of Ford’s sponsorship, the hourly rate for the Ford vehicle on campus is reduced by $1/hour. The program will cover two academic years, beginning September 1, 2011 and ending August 31, 2013.

Q. The new school year is starting and I want to give sustainability a try – do you have any materials to get me started?

A. You are in luck! From recycling to dining, we’ve got you covered. Read on to learn how you can receive your personal recycling bin, Green Guide, reusable to-go container, reusable water bottle and Zipcar membership.

What: Test your recycling IQ at one of our Think Green Thursday events and walk away with a green recycling tote of your very own. The bins stack, so bring your roommate and you can create a comprehensive recycling collection system in your residence hall room. Supplies are limited and bins are awarded on a first-come, first served basis.

Green Guide: A Deacon’s Guide to Sustainable Living

Who: Everyone

Where: The Magnolia Patio

When: Thursdays, from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

What: Have a question about alternative transportation at Wake? Want to sample some locally sourced cuisine at a downtown restaurant, but don’t know where to go? Interested in getting involved with sustainability at Wake Forest? The 25-page second edition of the WFU Green Guide answers all your sustainability questions. Though the first edition was written for students, by students, the second edition also includes resources requested by faculty and staff.

Reusable To-Go Container

Who: Anyone who eats at the Fresh Food Company

Where: In front of the Reynolda Fresh Food Company (aka The Pit)

When: August 26 – September 7, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

What: If you eat at the Pit, you are eligible to receive one free green reusable to-go container. Don’t throw away or lose this container. When you are finished with your meal, return the bin to the North Campus store or the Fresh Food Co. Green Scene Express, so that it can be washed and reused. In exchange, you will receive a clean container or a plastic key-tag. After this 2 week free distribution period, any replacement containers will cost you $5, so be sure to pick up your container or tag between August 26 and September 7.

In addition, Faculty and staff may purchase blocks of meals from the Fresh Food Co. accounting office at a discount. They will receive one free to-go container with purchase even after the 2 week free period.

Learn more about changes to the to-go program and other exciting dining initiatives here. (Hint – the to-go process has been improved and streamlined.)

“Choose to Reuse” Reusable Water Bottles

Who: Everyone

Where: The Magnolia Patio

When: Thursday, September 15, 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

What: Earn a colorful re-usable water bottle during our “Choose to Reuse” Think Green Thursday event. Learn about the positive impact you can make by choosing a reusable bottle over single-serve bottled water and take the water taste test. Can you tell the difference between tap and bottled water?

Zipcar Membership

Who: Any individual over the age of 18 with a valid driver’s license or any university office/department

What: No car? No problem. For just $35/year, you become part of a car sharing program that supplies a car, gas, insurance and roadside assistant for a low hourly rate. Take the car to your meeting off-campus, to Target for supplies, or on a weekend trip. The best part? University students, faculty and staff receive $35 in driving credit to be used in the first month of membership – it’s like getting the membership for free. Visit the WFU Zipcar web site to register or stop by our office (Reynolda Hall 101) if you have any questions.

The transition between the spring and fall semesters of 2010 brought huge changes for the university’s department of transportation. Most notable of these is the two-fold increase in ridership on the Gold and Black shuttle lines. Ridership on those two lines topped 6,000 students last month. These lines provide convenient rides to and from WFU campus and local apartment complexes. Students have enthusiastically jumped on board as they realized the financial savings on both gas and parking passes, as well as the extended hours offered by the shuttles. This last factor had a huge impact on the increased ridership on the line.

Increased service to more apartment complexes also met the needs and wants expressed by students. GPS technology which allows riders to view the real-time locations of the shuttles has also been introduced this semester to add further convenience to the shuttle system.

The improved shuttle system is not the only successful transportation program that has been launched in the past year. Use of the Zipcar vehicles has increased steadily since its arrival on campus last spring. Since July, membership has tripled and continued growth at this rate will merit the addition of another vehicle to the fleet next spring. Other types of vehicles, such as a truck which could be utilized for moving purposes, are being considered for addition in the future.

An exciting transportation option that became available this semester is the on-campus solar shuttle. The solar shuttle, which is a solar-electric hybrid vehicle, provides students a convenient means to travel to and from different locations on the Reynolda campus. The exact route has yet to be determined, and will be designed around input from a school-wide survey. If the existing shuttles’ popularity is any indication, the future is bright for the transportation department’s newest addition to the fleet of vehicles providing convenient, free transportation to university faculty, staff and students.